(I’m a bank teller at a large national bank. A customer in her mid-twenties comes up to my till.)

Me: “Welcome to [bank name]! How can I help you today?”

Customer: “Yeah, can I find the total amount I owe for my student loans?”

Me: “Sure, what is your full name?”

(She gives me her name, and I give her the amount owed. It is a fairly large amount.)

Customer: “Perfect!”

(With a large smile, she hands me a cashier check from another bank, for the exact amount, totally paying off all loans she has with this bank. I enter the info, and print her receipt. I quickly run to the back to see my manager.)

Me: “Can I give this customer a couple of the promotional items that we usually give to people that open checking accounts?”

(My manager see the amount that she is paying, and that this means the customer has totally paid off the loans.)

Manager: “You can give her whatever you want!”

(I grab some items, and bring them back up to the till.)

Me: “Congratulations on paying off all your loans. Here’s your receipt, and a few gifts for paying off such a large loan amount.”

Customer: “Thank you very much! What I’m about to say has nothing to do with you; you are a great person, and thank you very much for the free gift. So, just go with everything I’m about to do.”

Me: “…Okay?”

(She holds up the receipt above her head, and speaks in a loud voice.)

Customer: “Ha! Six years ago I sold my soul to this bank! But after going through the nine circles of hell, I have finally gotten free of it! I now owe you nothing, zip, zero, nada! I am free; no more bills, payments, fees, nothing. I’M FREEEEEEE!”

(Even as she walks out the doors, she’s yelling and dancing. The dozen or so other customers and workers watch her the whole time. Another customer speaks loud enough so just about everyone can hear him.)

Customer: “How you dare to interrupt me! My check account is [number] and my name is [name].”

Me: “Miss, you are calling [major bank], not [other bank].”

Customer: “What?! Who are you? Why are you calling me? I’m going to the police! I want your f****** name, and I want to speak with your supervisor before I go there and shoot someone!”

Me: “Okay…”

(I mute the headset.)

Customer: “What are you waiting for?!”

Me: “I’m waiting for you to tell me why you need to speak to my supervisor. If it was because you called a wrong number and said all you personal info, or maybe because you cursed at me several times, or that you, in a recorded, federal monitored line, threatened to shoot me.”

Customer: “Oh, no! I didn’t say that!”

(I check on the database for her full name with her SSN.)

Me: “Okay, let me put you on hold so I can speak with my supervisor and call the police. Your full name is [full name], right? Your address is [address], and your phone is [phone number].”

(The customer hangs up. I end up having a verbal warning from my boss, along with a free meal from him for “the funniest following-guidelines-call I have ever heard”.)